Chapter Ninety-Three: Farce

  Since the flight attendant didn't come, everyone had to continue waiting. Just then, an Asian flight attendant walked over, and Ju An asked her how much longer they would have to wait, as she was still waiting to sleep on the plane. The flight attendant explained that she didn't know how much longer it would be, but said it would be at most half an hour, which made Ju An and the others very anxious. Then the flight attendant spoke to them in Chinese, saying that one of the flight attendants couldn't make it due to unforeseen circumstances, so the company had arranged for another flight attendant to come over, asking them to wait a little longer. Only then did they realize that this flight attendant was actually a Chinese flight attendant working for American Airlines.

  The Chinese flight attendant finished answering Ju An's question and walked forward, seeing someone switching seats in front of her. There were two adults, a husband and wife, with a little girl, looking like Asians, wearing brand-name clothes. Ju An felt a sense of wealth among his compatriots. After all, this flight was direct to the Chinese capital, so he thought they were Chinese. He saw the woman holding something and preparing to sit in the window seat one row in front of him.

  At this time, the Chinese flight attendant walked over and said in Chinese to the two people: "Excuse me, miss, do you speak English?"

  The woman looked at the flight attendant and said in English: "I am Korean, I don't understand Chinese, please speak to me in English."

  Then I heard the Chinese flight attendant repeat what she had just said in English.

  The Korean woman understood and replied: "I'm speaking English to you, are you asking if I can read English? What does this mean, didn't you hear that my English is fluent?"

  The flight attendant listened to her question and replied with a smile, "If you don't understand English, please don't sit here. This is close to the emergency exit. If you can't read the instructions here, in case we need to use it, you won't know how to open it. We have to ensure passenger safety as well as your own safety. Would you mind reading this and letting me see?" She then took out a small booklet from beside her and handed it to the female passenger.

  The female passenger took the booklet without looking at it and tossed it aside, saying to the flight attendant: "I know English, I'm speaking to you in English, can't you understand?"

  "Look, I'm just saying this because I'm worried you might not know English and won't be able to open the emergency exit if something happens. Just read it out loud for her, would that be okay?"

  "Who knows that woman heard Ju An's words and said: 'I don't understand what you're saying, are all Chinese people so rude? I'm talking to someone else, you didn't even greet me before interrupting'."

  The husband of the woman wearing a gold chain also said to Ju An, "Sir, please don't interfere with other people's business, mind your own affairs. My wife is negotiating with the flight attendant, please don't interrupt."

  Those who were sitting comfortably also stopped talking and leaned back in their seats. Wang Fan smiled and asked softly in Chinese, "What's wrong, are you afraid?"

  "Take it easy," said Wang Fan with a glance at him, "I'm waiting for the plane to take off. Once I get on the plane and sleep well, when we arrive in the capital and get off the plane, I'll go find him."

  Wang Fan glanced at Ju An and said with a strange expression: "If you want to smoke, go up and smoke now, don't be shy".

  "On the American's plane, let's be careful about our behavior and not make a fool of ourselves in front of them," Ju An replied.

  Wang Fan looked at Ju An and said, "Really?"

  "Even if you can't help, at most I'll be sent to the US embassy and then back home. Who knows, maybe I'll even save on a return ticket. Why wouldn't I dare take this stick? And with you Chinese people, she thinks Stick Country is really a powerful country, how ridiculous."

  Wang Fan rubbed his head and laughed, saying: "Damn it, I forgot that you're a Chinese American now. If something happens, you'll have to go through the embassy, which means Chinese law and the People's Police can't touch you, right?"

  The woman was saying to the Chinese flight attendant, "This seat near the window is empty, can't I sit here? Why don't you understand? I'm speaking English to you, of course I know English. Are you intentionally trying to pick a fight?"

  This Chinese flight attendant was indeed patient and still smiled at the tomboy, saying: "Please read this to me for everyone's safety."

  Then the female tomboy immediately collapsed and pointed at the Chinese flight attendant, shouting "Shut up! Shut up!" several times. The Chinese flight attendant heard this and immediately turned around, walking away with a cold face.

  The woman with a stick then dragged herself onto the chair with an air of arrogance, still muttering this and that in her mouth, making Ju An feel nauseous.

  After a while, the flight attendant brought over a man in his 40s who looked like a pilot, wearing a blue uniform and a white captain's hat. He briefly spoke with the two men, then said to them: "Sorry, please get off the plane now. Our plane doesn't welcome you." Then he made a gesture for them to leave.

  I was shocked when I heard this, thinking to myself that this American airline is really something else, directly expelling the passenger. Then I heard that arrogant woman say: "I won't get off the plane, I'm going to file a complaint against you, today I'll stay here, I didn't do anything wrong, I want an apology from you."

  The captain then made a few more polite gestures, but the two men still refused to leave. They muttered and mumbled to each other in dialect, when several police officers on board arrived, took them away, and as they left the cabin erupted into applause.

  After a while, the Chinese flight attendant came over again and quietly asked everyone if they needed anything. When it was Wang Fan's turn, Wang Fan gave the flight attendant a thumbs up and praised her: "Sister, you're too powerful!"

  The flight attendant next to her explained to Wang Fan and Ju An, "The salary of the flight attendants is the remuneration for their service to the passengers, but it does not include the remuneration for being scolded by the passengers. The two people just now were scolding the flight attendant, so the flight attendant was naturally unhappy. If the flight attendant is unhappy, it will bring hidden dangers to the flight, and the airline will not tolerate such hidden dangers. So it was inevitable that the two people were taken off the plane earlier. Moreover, since 911, the security checks have become stricter and stricter, and each flight has police on board."

  "Never heard of those two guys insulting the flight attendants, did you Wang Fan?" Wang Fan shook his head. Jasmine smiled and explained: "Shut up means it's an insult when said together, saying it a few times in a row is considered rude. If you want someone to stop talking, you can use 'please' with a longer tone."

  It's a good thing I encountered this today, otherwise I wouldn't have known that "shut up" can be used in a derogatory way. If I had accidentally used it one day, I might have gotten into trouble with the law.

  Three people were chatting in their seats when they noticed a small head between the seats in front of them. Upon closer inspection, they saw that two adults had left a child behind on the plane. The passenger called over a flight attendant and told her about the situation. However, the flight attendant did not remove the child from the plane, saying that she did not have the authority to deprive the child of its right to take this flight. This American's thinking is truly bizarre - they kicked off the parents but left the kid on the plane, who would take care of it when it arrives in the capital? Forget it, what a hassle, if there's an issue, go find a police officer.

  After about five or six minutes, the flight attendant finally boarded the plane. When An saw the watch, it was already nearly 40 minutes late. Fortunately, everyone was on board, and the plane started taxiing down the runway. After overcoming the initial turbulence, An fell asleep. Wang Fan spent two dollars to buy a headset and listened to music. This American airline is really something; they're all about making money. You have to pay two dollars just to listen to music on the plane. It's not very generous, just like the airport carts that require you to insert five dollars before you can use them. They even have a machine specifically for exchanging coins. What a ridiculous humanized design! When An first came to America with his company, he was carrying a lot of luggage and was almost exhausted. He once pulled a cart at the airport for half a day without noticing any movement, only to discover that there were small words written on it saying "please pay a few dollars" - very clear and straightforward.

  Of course, the food on the plane is not free. For example, a hamburger that costs $5 in the market will cost $8 on the plane. It's like how goods are sold domestically, it's much more expensive. So I never eat anything on the plane, not because I'm being frugal, but because I just can't muster up the interest to eat airplane food.

  When the group arrived in the capital, it was still daytime and not yet night. Wang Fan took Ju An and Molly to a hotel to settle down, then returned to his old home in the capital. For the next few days, Ju An took Molly on a wild tour of the great capital, visiting places like the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall - basically taking her to all the famous spots so that this foreign friend could get a good taste of China's beautiful landscapes.

  The plan was good, but the next day, Ju An felt waist and back pain, leg cramps, and was really exhausted. In contrast, her friend Da Yang Ma was still full of energy, even a bit reluctant to end the outing, making Ju An feel that this woman's endurance for shopping was truly immeasurable.